Durocher, Leo

▪ American athlete

in full  Leo Ernest Durocher  

born July 27, 1905, West Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.

died October 7, 1991, Palm Springs, California

 American professional baseball player and manager.

      Durocher played a year each in Atlanta, Georgia, and St. Paul, Minnesota, before joining the New York Yankees in 1928. He was a superb fielder at shortstop but a mediocre hitter, and he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds in 1930. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933 and became a star with that team when it won the World Series in 1934.

      Durocher was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers) in 1937 and became that team's captain in 1938. He managed the Dodgers in 1939–46 and 1948, and he led them to a pennant in 1941. Durocher was suspended for the entire 1947 season because of conduct “detrimental to baseball,” vague charges that related to Durocher's gambling and fast living. Before his 1947 suspension, however, Durocher managed to quell a clubhouse protest against the newly recruited Jackie Robinson (Robinson, Jackie) and thereby eased the way for the integration of the Dodgers in that year.

      Durocher managed the New York Giants in 1948–55 and led them to two pennants (1951 and 1954) and a World Series win in the latter year. He quit the Giants in 1955 to become a baseball commentator on television but returned as coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961–64. He then managed the Chicago Cubs in 1966–72 and the Houston Astros in 1972–73. Durocher, who is known for the phrase “Nice guys finish last” (in fact he said, “The nice guys over there are in seventh place”), was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

* * *